By Dash Coleman
Savannah Morning News
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Nineteen new jail officers joined the ranks of the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office on Monday afternoon after completing a five-week training course.
“Life is just beginning,” Sheriff Al St Lawrence told the graduates. “You can work hard and make something of yourself here... If you put your nose to the grindstone and you work hard, you will be rewarded.”
The sheriff told the graduates he hoped they would stay with the department for the long haul.
“I wish you well, and I hope to see you around 20 years from now even though I won’t be here,” St Lawrence said.
The course included defensive tactics, emergency medical training, inmate rights, professionalism and ethics.
Chaquitta Wheeler, the class president, challenged her fellow graduates to make sure their presence is felt by the people they serve as corrections officers.
“No one shows us what real courage is like men and women in uniform,” she said. “Whether they are a soldier in Afghanistan, a police officer on the streets or a high-speed, highly motivated corrections officer. Those who serve show us courage the very moment they put on the uniform.”
Chief Deputy Roy Harris, who like the sheriff has had decades of law enforcement experience, stressed that the industry requires officers to stay up to date.
“We continue to learn something new every day, and you’ll have to do that too to survive,” he said. "... We continue to train to do the best we can.”
Several of the family members and friends who pinned the new corrections officers had law enforcement backgrounds themselves.
Retired Bloomingdale Police Chief Thomas “Rick” Gossett said he was honored to be able to pin his grandson, 21-year-old Andreaux Evans-Martinez, and watch him be sworn in by the sheriff.
“It feels good,” said Gossett, who worked about 22 years in law enforcement, including time as an investigator in Garden City before taking the job in Bloomingdale. “I think it’s something he wants to do, and I’m proud of him. I had a good career. I think it’s a great career for anyone.”